The Death of the Old Kingdom

Countdown

Something fun (eg. Game, video, etc.). It is not necessary for this to have a tie in to the lesson, but it can.

Check out Tim Mackie’s sermon on Matthew 24:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJIxPL9A34M

Introductions

This is culture

Basic Opening Statement: We are glad that you are here with us at bcsm and we want you to know, more than anything, that you have a community of people here that love and care about you. This is a safe space to process your faith and ideas, to ask questions. You have a purpose or a place within this community which means we are better off with you than without you and you have a mission outside of this community. All of that rests on this one foundational truth that we want you to hear and want you to share: God wants to have a relationship with you.

You have community. You have purpose. You have a mission. You have truth.

I am _______________ and before we start, let me pray.”

*Pray for God to use what you have to say to move someone further along in their journey towards Jesus.*

Story Time

Tell a quick story that introduces the message

Talk about something funny (eg. pineapple on pizza) as an example that shows that the world we live in is full of chaos.

What is something you have encountered in your daily life that you would say is evidence of chaos in our world?

When you have experienced craziness or chaos in your life, has that made following Jesus harder or easier?

Why?

Catch Up

Where we have been in the series. Where we are going.

We are continuing our Kingdom of Heaven series where we will are exploring the very first book of the New Testament, Matthew, a couple chapters at a time. Matthew is one of four biographies of Jesus that we have in the Bible, we call them the gospels, or good news.

Now we can not cover everything. But if you want to dig a little deeper, you can go to thebcsm.com for our daily devotions that follow along with what we talk about on Sunday Mornings.

Now to catch you up, so far we have talked about Jesus’ origins and his preparations for ministry, His first four major teaching sections and some of the things that happened after that. Today we will be approaching the fifth teaching section, right before Jesus’s death.

So let’s look at the Scripture for today.

Scripture

Read or summarize main Scripture with a little surrounding context. Ask a couple of questions to about the text.

Matthew 24:1–3 (ESV)

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

24 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

How many questions are the disciples asking Jesus here?

There’s two: “when will these things be” talking about the buildings being destroyed “and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

How are these questions different?

What are some of the things you have heard about what the disciples call “the end of the age?”

Tension/ Main Point

What is the rub? Create some questions and feeling in the minds of your students around the main point of the lesson.

So Jesus tells his disciples the temple was going to be destroyed and they ask the obvious question, “when?” That is their first question and Jesus basically says soon. He talks about the abomination of desolation in verse 15 which is kind of like Jewish code for foreign powers not respecting the Holy grounds of the temple. Going where they should not go. And about 40 years later, what Jesus is talking about, happens. The Roman government comes in and destroys the temple in Jerusalem. Now if you go to Jerusalem you will see an Islamic Mosque built upon the foundation of the ancient Israelite temple.

Jesus uses a lot of poetry and apocalyptic pictures taken from the Old Testament to describe this event. And a lot of people take those pictures and come up with all kinds of interpretations. The important thing to note, is that Jesus is answering the first question here, not the second. He is saying, this is going to be big and it is going to seem scary and it will be really hard and you will want answers. But the world is always crazy and scary and hard, right?

So the question I have for Jesus here, is what should we do when we live in a crazy chaotic world where there are wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes, tribulation, death, lawlessness, false prophets and a situation where love grows cold?

And luckily Jesus answers that question.

Response

We respond every week with an invitation to baptism and communion.

What does it look like to follow Jesus in the midst of this crazy world?

He says, stand firm. Don’t be taken in. Don’t live in fear, but in trust.

English Standard Version Chapter 24

But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

To answer the disciples’ second question, Jesus says, “No one knows when the end will come.” And really it doesn’t matter. Our job is to stand firm in the faith and spread the Kingdom to all those around us while we can. Jesus says when the end of the world comes, it will be like Noah’s flood. Two guys will be in a field and one will be swept away to destruction. What would happen if the one guy turned to the other and told him about Jesus?

Right now, we are going to take communion together. This is something we do every week to remember what it cost Jesus to give us the opportunity to escape destruction. We eat the bread that reminds us of his broken body. We drink the juice to remember the blood poured out for our sakes. I am going to play a song and I would just ask you to feel free to move to grab communion, or if you want to talk with one of the adults, if you want to make a different decision today or you want someone to be praying for you, that is what we are here for. Just let us know. If you don’t want to move and just want to listen to the lyrics of the song, or pray, or read the Bible you can do that as well.

Song

Pick a song that centers around the main theme of the lesson.

Here Again- Elevation Worship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9UbTjlWFZw

Discussion

Start with Prayer

Read Matthew 24:1-13

Why are people interested in the future?

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, what questions did the disciples pose? (24:3) What wide-scale calamities did Jesus predict would occur? (24:6-8)

Are the things he talks about unusual in our world?

Jesus is talking about two big events: the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and His eventual return. In what ways can we become sidetracked by discussion of the end times?

How can we stand firm to the end in the midst of the chaos that surrounds us?

What is one thing you can do in the next month to spread the Kingdom of Heaven to your part of the world?